Judge acquits woman of sexually assaulting male student

ACQUITTED

Peter Small/News services

Former Toronto elementary school teacher Mary Gowans leaves Ontario Superior Court with her lawyer, Peter Brauti on Sept. 18, 2012. She was acquitted Sept. 21 of having a sexual relationship with a former student when he was 15.

Gowans, 43, a former elementary school teacher with the Toronto public board, pleaded not guilty to sexual interference and sexual assault of her former student in late 2009 and January 2010.

The maximum penalty for each offence is 10 years.

The teenager, now a tall 18-year-old college student who cannot be named, said he and Gowans grew close when she taught him Grade 8 French.

After he left for high school, she hired him as a babysitter for her two children and he returned to the elementary school to help her with after-class athletic activities.

The teenager claimed she flirted with him, wore skimpy outfits when they jogged and once showed him her breasts through a wet T-shirt in payment of a bet.

Starting November 2009, they had at least five intimate encounters in her home while he was babysitting her son and daughter, he said. Typically she would straddle him and expose her breasts and they would kiss, he testified last week.

Twice he touched her private parts with her permission, but she soon stopped him because she said it felt wrong, he said.

Gowans took the stand to deny it all. The only sexual encounter happened when he grabbed her crotch while trying to kiss her on Jan. 5, 2010, she said.

The shocked teacher immediately barred from her house, she said.

But the youth told his sister his version of events eight days later, leading his mother to contact police on Jan. 18.

Gowans said police came to arrest her that day in front of her two children, and her life was completely destroyed.

The allegations ended her marriage of 17 years and led to her suspension from the Toronto District School Board, she testified.

She later resigned.

The Crown pointed to the more than 2,000 text messages from November 2009 to Jan. 10, 2010. She said they were innocent, dealing mainly with babysitting and scheduling issues.

But the boy said the text messages were often sexual. None of the messages have been retained.

His mother and sister testified they saw a text message from Gowans to him at 8:26 a.m. Christmas morning 2009, saying “Christmas came early, babe” accompanied by a winking face. Both thought the message disturbingly sexual.

Gowans said she didn’t recall sending it but added if she did it would have been a harmless joke. She called everyone babe, she said.